Beakerhead 2016 Breaks Attendance Records

About 50,000 Calgarians Show Up To Beakernight.

by Maxwell Mawji, Capture Candy

Beakerhead’s fourth Calgary instalment finished this weekend with a record breaking attendance. The art instillation boasts innovative and creative science events that spread to over 60 venues throughout the city.

Estimated counts of the festivals largest event, Beakernight on Saturday, were over 50,000. This was up from last year’s estimated 40,000 during the same event. The first time the event was hosts, about 8,000 people showed up. While the number was above expectation for the day, the event has exponentially in popularity throughout the past few years.

“Beakerhead strikes a chord in people. They come and they say to us ‘thank you for letting me be who I am,’” said Mary Anne Moser, president and co-found of Beakerhead, during an interview with The Calgary Herald,

The five-day festival series hosts multiple community events bring arts and innovations into the areas of entertainment, engineering, hospitality and more.

“It’s popular I think because it really speaks to all of us,” Moser added.

“Everyone of us has gone through a school system where we’ve been streamlined into either

the arts or science. So bringing the two together can interest everyone.”

The 2016 lineup of events included:

Beakernight: the weekend’s largest event illuminating Bridgeland with a field of lit balloons, live music, robot battles and a giant sized robot.

Other events included Torched, where chefs and bartenders created science infused culinary art; Tentacles, where massive octopus’ tentacles sprouted from a building; nibbler, where illuminated giant inflatable rabbits occupied Central Memorial Park, and many more.

Torched: where six top Calgary chefs and mixologists got creative in a Ramsay skate park, including an array of trout roasting in wire baskets over a giant flame.

The hope for next year, according to Moser, is the events will continue to grow and become more popular in the community.

“This is the future. It’s where people’s ideas can take root,” Moser said.

“Human ingenuity is our greatest asset and we can build it as a community.”